عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Saudi Arabia Mobilizes Local, Int'l Investors to Convert Waste into Economic Value

Saudi Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture Abdurrahman al-Fadhli at the inauguration of the Investment Forum in the Waste Management Sector (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture Abdurrahman al-Fadhli at the inauguration of the Investment Forum in the Waste Management Sector (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT
TT

Saudi Arabia Mobilizes Local, Int'l Investors to Convert Waste into Economic Value

Saudi Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture Abdurrahman al-Fadhli at the inauguration of the Investment Forum in the Waste Management Sector (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture Abdurrahman al-Fadhli at the inauguration of the Investment Forum in the Waste Management Sector (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia hosted an “Investment Forum in the Waste Management Sector” with the participation of over 300 local international investors from 25 countries aiming to transform waste from an environmental burden into an economic value.

Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Center for Waste Management (MWAN) Abdurrahman al-Fadhli, inaugurated the Forum, which holds many promising investment opportunities for economic development in the Kingdom.

MWAN CEO Abdullah al-Sbaei said that the Forum aims to introduce the transformation journey in the waste management sector, stimulate investment, and value the participation of the private sector.

Sbaei indicated that the transformation is the most important building block on which waste management and environmental sustainability are established, asserting the Kingdom’s endeavor to transform the sector from a load into an economic value.

On the sidelines of the Forum, Saudi Downtown Company, wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with MWAN to cooperate in programs and initiatives related to waste management.

The MoU also targets training, raising the level of performance of technical personnel, ensuring compliance with legislation and controls, and boosting joint work to improve the services provided to residents and visitors of Downtown Company projects in 12 cities in the Kingdom.

Downtown Company board member Naif al-Hamdan and MWAN CEO signed the MoU.

Hamdan explained that the agreement aims to develop integrated plans and programs to achieve sustainability and optimal use of resources and enhance the quality of life through the 12 projects.

The agreement comes within the framework of the Company’s strategy for environmental, social, and corporate governance practices, whose objectives include sustainability, community participation and interaction, and efficient use of resources.

Downtown Company aimed to achieve these goals by adopting best governance practices, practical cooperation with all relevant parties, formulating policies, using modern technologies, and spreading awareness.

It focuses on developing and establishing urban destinations and centers with a sustainable economic and social impact in 12 cities: al-Madinah, al-Ahsa, al-Khobar, Buraydah, al-Taif, Arar, Hail, Tabuk, Dumat al-Jandal, Jizan, Najran, and al-Baha.

The projects will be built on a total area of more than 10 million square meters. They aim to provide a platform to enhance lifestyles and promote economic growth and offer diverse choices of shopping, business, and living experiences that improve the quality of life and catalyze development.

Meanwhile, MWAN concluded a memorandum of understanding with the Federation of Saudi Chambers at the Forum to enhance economic sustainability by stimulating investment and improving the quality of waste management.

The agreement aims to ensure environmental protection and public health, reduce waste production by applying the best technical practices of circular economy, increase public awareness to reduce waste production, and encourage reuse and recycling.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

China Approves $840B Plan to Refinance Local Government Debt, Boost Economy

Visitors walk past a shop under construction with a dragon mural at the Sanlitun shopping district in Beijing, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Visitors walk past a shop under construction with a dragon mural at the Sanlitun shopping district in Beijing, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
TT
TT

China Approves $840B Plan to Refinance Local Government Debt, Boost Economy

Visitors walk past a shop under construction with a dragon mural at the Sanlitun shopping district in Beijing, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Visitors walk past a shop under construction with a dragon mural at the Sanlitun shopping district in Beijing, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

China on Friday approved a 6 trillion yuan ($839 billion) plan to help local governments refinance their mountains of debt, in the latest push to rev up growth in the world’s second largest economy.

The plan will be implemented over the next three years, Xu Hongcai, vice-chairman of the National People's Congress's financial and economic committee, said at a news conference Friday.

Finance minister Lan Fo'an estimated that the hidden debt of local governments was 14.3 trillion yuan ($2 trillion) at the end of 2023. Hidden debt refers to debt that has not been disclosed publicly, The Associated Press reported.

Lan said 2 trillion yuan would be allocated each year from 2024 to 2026 to help local governments resolve their debts. He estimated that the amount of hidden debt will drop to 2.3 trillion yuan ($320.9 billion) by the end of 2028.

Officials also said Friday that the ceiling to issue special bonds will be raised to 35.52 trillion yuan ($4.96 billion) from 29.52 trillion yuan ($4.12 billion) for local governments.

Lan said that the implementation of such a large-scale replacement measure indicates a “fundamental shift” in China's approach to debt restructuring and said that China’s government debt risk was “controllable.”

Analysts have called for bold, multi-trillion-yuan measures to reinvigorate the world's second largest economy, which has yet to bounce back fully from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Local government debts have ballooned partly due to high spending and low tax revenues during the pandemic, but also due to a downturn in the property industry, since sales of land use rights, a key source of local government revenue, have sagged.

The central bank loosened restrictions on borrowing in late September, sparking a stock market rally, but economists say the government needs to do more to ignite a sustained recovery. Government officials have indicated that could come at this week's meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, which must give official approval to any new spending.

The economy has shown signs of life in the past two months. Purchase subsidies offered to people who trade in old cars or appliances for new ones helped auto sales rebound in September. A survey of manufacturers turned positive in October after five straight months of decline, and exports surged 12.7% last month, the largest increase in more than two years.

For most of the year, the ruling Communist Party appeared more focused on addressing long-term structural issues with the economy rather than short-term ones. Previous steps to boost the economy were piecemeal, seemingly aimed at keeping the economy afloat rather than sparking a robust recovery.

In recent weeks, the party has signaled a growing concern about the economy's sluggishness as it tries to meet its goal of achieving growth of around 5% this year. The central bank's monetary easing was followed by government pronouncements that it still has ample funds to pump into the economy.

Still, the longer-term goals of transforming China into a high-tech and green energy economy seem likely to remain the chief aims of the Communist Party, which doesn't face election pressures like the ones that toppled the Democrats and swept Donald Trump's Republicans to power in America this week.